Tag: nz history

Enjoy the season with New Zealand stories about friendship, adventures and family secrets; relax by watching a movie from the library’s latest DVD collection; or start a new craft project. Enrich your summer cuisine with delightful recipes from around the world and read romantic sagas in Spanish.

Library News

New Zealand

Always eclectic, new additions to the New Zealand Collection this month feature stories from a museum curator, a kiwi sanctuary, photography, poetry, the sad history of post war state care of children and lastly a murder mystery. The new book shelves of the NZ Collection have something to interest everyone.

The unburnt egg : more stories of a museum curator / Brian Gill.
“Museum natural history collections have been called libraries of life. In The Unburnt Egg Brian Gill continues his spellbinding stories from more than thirty years as a curator. Some tales are so bizarre they read like fiction: a population of ship rats decimating the entire wildlife of an island and then collapsing; birds leaving their young to be raised by other birds; frogs and lizards living in trees and flying. Others reveal the painstaking detective work involved in solving mysteries presented by police, biosecurity agencies, government departments and members of the public. Frogs’ legs on sale as chicken, a feather hidden in a bag of sugar, a live boa constrictor on a street in snake-free New Zealand–it’s all in a day’s work.” (Adapted from Syndetics summary)

Mister Hamilton / John Dickson.
“Mister Hamilton, John Dickson’s first collection in eighteen years, is an appealing, questioning mix of elements. Over a base of South Island bedrock (granite, schist, greywacke), Dickson has peopled this quietly fiery collection with day-to-day working voices and narratives, sometimes comic, sometimes tragic, sometimes charged with a political consciousness and lyrical intensity. Shot-through with veins of jazz, rock and blues, quizzical religiosity and a streak of the absurd, this book takes a fresh look at the streets and lawns and people of urban and suburban ‘Pig Island’ and offers some thoughtful, wisely pitched and immensely likeable poems.” (Adapted from Syndetics summary)

My father’s ears / Karen Goa.
“When an Italian immigrant’s harsh but intriguing past catches up with him, his skeptical daughter Sophie sets out to discover the truth about her father, his affair with a Romanian trapeze artist and a mysterious New Zealander claiming to be his son. This twisting tale of secrets and social dilemmas is set against a remarkable and moving history of Italian immigration.” (Adapted from Syndetics summary)

DVDs

As always, a wide variety of DVDs have been added to our extensive collection. They include recent smash hits such as Florence Foster Jenkins, Me before You and our very own Hunt for the Wilderpeople. As for TV series, check out very popular Peaky Blinders. Season three.

Florence Foster Jenkins.
“Despite lacking pitch, rhythm and tone, Florence Foster Jenkins became one of America’a best-known sopranos. Born in 1868 to wealthy Pennsylvanian parents, Florence was a talented young pianist but her life was thrown into turmoil when she eloped with Frank Jenkins, a man twice her age. The marriage proved a disaster and Florence was forced to abandon her dreams of a musical career. Then her father died in 1909 and, newly installed in New York, she used her considerable inheritance to fund her passion, setting up a prestigious music club. Many young singers owed their start to Florence, but she too yearned to perform and began giving regular recitals that quickly attracted a cult following. And yet nothing could prepare the world for the astonishing climax of her career when, at the age of seventy-six, she performed at the most hallowed concert hall in America.” (Back cover)

Peaky Blinders. Season three.
“Thomas Shelby (Cillian Murphy) is drawn into a maze of global intrigue in the electrifying third series of Steven Knight’s acclaimed family saga.Approached by a secret organisation on his own wedding day, Tommy finds himself at the centre of an international arms deal that could change the course of history. In a sphere where no one reveals their true intentions until the game is up, Tommy has to contend with a White Russian exile whose brutality knows no bounds, a priest with a killer dog, a beautiful Duchess even more manipulative than him, and a powerful entity at the heart of the British establishment that will stop at nothing to accomplish its reactionary aims. The pressures they inflict upon Tommy are carefully chosen and exquisitely unpleasant.” (Syndetics summary)

Me before you / New Line Cinema and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures present a Sunswept Entertainment production.
“Louisa ‘Lou’ Clark lives in a quaint town in the English countryside. With no clear direction in her life, the quirky and creative 26-year old goes from one job to the next in order to make ends meet. Taking a job at the local ‘castle’ she becomes caregiver and companion to Will Traynor, a wealthy young banker who became wheelchair bound in an accident. Embarking together on a series of adventures, both Lou and Will get more than they bargained for.” (Syndetics summary)

Eye in the sky.
“London-based military intelligence officer Colonel Katherine Powell (Helen Mirren) is remotely commanding a top secret drone operation to capture a group of dangerous terrorists from their safe-house in Nairobi, Kenya. The mission suddenly escalates from a “capture” to a “kill” operation as Powell realizes that the terrorists are about to embark on a deadly suicide mission. From his base in Nevada, American drone pilot Steve Watts (Aaron Paul) is poised to destroy the safe-house when a nine year old girl enters the kill zone just outside the walls of the house. With unforeseen collateral damage now entering the equation, the impossible decision of when to strike gets passed up the “kill chain” of politicians and lawyers as the seconds tick down.” (Product description, amazon.co.uk)

Cicatriz / Juan Gómez-Jurado.
“Simon Sax is a lucky guy. He’s young, smart and is about to become a billionaire by selling a great invention. And yet, he feels lonely. His success contrasts with his lack of social skills. He joins a dating site where he falls in love with Irina, with the inexperience and passion of a teenager. But she has an enigmatic scar on her cheek, and carries a dark secret…” (Syndetics summary)

France : the cookbook / Ginette Mathiot.
“With more than 1,400 recipes, Mathiot guides the reader through all the classic recipes and techniques of French cooking… with a clear and authoritative voice. The recipes, which have been fully updated by Clothilde Dusoulie, author of the popular Chocolate & Zucchini blog, prove that authentic French food doesn’t have to be complicated, heavy or too rich.” (Syndetics summary)

Greek : Heart-warming Traditional Recipes / [food director, Pamela Clark.]
“From the delicious dips and little morsels they call Mezze and eat with a glass of ouzo before dinner to the super-sweet honey-drenched baklava they eat with their coffee after dinner, Greek food is a culinary delight. Seafood is plentiful in Greece and there are recipes included here for prawns, sardines, squid and octopus. Peasant dishes such as moussaka, slow-roasted lamb, and dishes made from rabbit and goat are an important feature of the cuisine too. And there are celebration dishes – especially for Easter. And along with the beautifully photographed recipes, there are several beautifully photographed landscapes of Greece.” (Syndetics summary)

Eat to Stay Young : ingredients & recipes to rejuvenate your body & mind / Gill Paul ; nutritionist: Karen Sullivan
“Growing older is natural, but eating the right foods can slow the process down and keep your body’s stores of age-fighting nutrients topped up. Featured in this book are the key foods that have been proven to increase the feeling of youthfulness in our minds and bodies – cranberries, aubergines, guava, tuna and cinnamon to name a few. A clever problem-solver helps you choose the ingredients that address your symptoms, whether thinning hair, dry skin, poor circulation, joint pain or forgetfulness. With over 60 easy-to-follow, quick-to-prepare, completely delicious recipes and weekly meal planners, Eat To Stay Young is the perfect way to turn back the clock and achieve optimum health.” (Syndetics summary)

Craft

Give your creativity a fresh start with gorgeous ideas from this selection of our latest craft books. Discover some glorious designs for quilts, inspired by the rich colours of the terracotta walls and the white churches of the Mediterranean. Happy crafting!

Knit together, share together : simple knitting for all the family / Marja de Haan ; translated by Barbara Mee.
“Knitting can bring generations together. This practical and beautifully illustrated book, which contains step-by-step knitting instructions and patterns, was inspired by a granddaughter knitting a simple doll’s sweater, her grandmother knitting the doll itself, and the girl’s mother knitting a matching sweater for her daughter. Even young children can learn to knit the basic stitches, and this book features projects suitable for every age and stage of experience. Knitting not only stimulates the mind and develops motor skills and dexterity but is also a way of creating something useful, with love, which can be cherished.” (Syndetics summary)

The Bible sampler quilt book : 96 quilt blocks inspired by the Bible / Laurie Aaron Hird.
“Devotion meets design in a stunning sampler quilt honoring both the Old and New Testament! Evoke the spirit of favorite Bible passages in fabric with this gorgeous how-to guide from renowned sampler-quilt author Laurie Aaron Hird. In The Bible Sampler Quilt, Laurie pairs scripture with beautifully pieced blocks representing significant people, themes and events from The Bible. Inspired by well-loved Bible passages, The Bible Sampler Quilt invites you to create a quilt that is both beautiful and spiritually uplifting.” (Adapted from Syndetics summary)

Kaffe Fassett’s quilts in Italy : 20 designs from Rowan for patchwork and quilting.
“Che bella! Kaffe’s inspiration for the 20 new quilts in this book was drawn from the exquisite, richly colored villages of Cinque Terre on the Italian Riviera. The region, with its terracotta walls and handsome black and white churches set off by jewel-like glimpses of the Mediterranean, is beautifully reflected in the colors and patterns created by Kaffe and his team of designers. In addition to the gallery of quilts, the book provides detailed information on how to make each featured quilt, along with general practical patchwork and quilting information and a visual summary of Kaffe’s latest fabrics.” (Adapted from Syndetics summary)

As Family History month continues you may be starting to think about what to do with the information you have collected. Here are some resources on caring for your family papers, information, photos and memorabilia. We also have some ideas and examples of how to present or publish your family history information.

LOOKING AFTER YOUR HERITAGE ITEMS
Inheriting family photos, documents and other treasures is a family historian’s dream come true. But deciding how to deal with the ‘archives’ can become a nightmare. Organisation is key and lots of strategies are collected in Denise May Levenick’s book:How to archive family keepsakes : learn how to preserve family photos, memorabilia & genealogy records / Denise May Levenick.
Baby Boomers are coming of age, the age of inheritance. How to Archive Family Keepsakes will help anyone who has inherited their family treasures whether they are a few trinkets or a house filled with antiques. This step-by-step guide will lead the reader from chaos to calm. Part one offers specific advice on sorting and organising inherited items.

This guide sets out clearly how to:
• Organise the boxes of your relatives’ stuff you inherited
• Decide which family heirlooms to keep
• Donate items to museums, societies and charities
• Protect and pass on keepsakes

Levenick also has a blog on the Ancestry website, which you can access at any branch of Wellington City Libraries: This blog summarises many tips on topics like organising and preserving photo collections.

WRITING YOUR FAMILY HISTORY
When you’ve gathered lots of details, documents and photos, and got them organised, the next step is to write up your family’s story.
The library has some good resources (see the 929.1 section on the 2nd Floor) to help you move beyond the masses of facts to present them engagingly.

Writing a non-boring family history / by Hazel Edwards.This book “will help you craft the history of your ancestors in an interesting and rewarding way that others will want to read”. It is packed with practical advice, with checklists of questions to consider – including who your target audience is, costs, collaboration, editing, format, publication, shaping your story – and when to stop researching!

Writing your family history : a New Zealand guide / Joan Rosier-Jones.
“A guide for the writer of a family history, focusing on the actual writing and production of the book, rather than the background research. The book includes choosing material for the book, writing style, editing and revision, getting feedback, and production and marketing. An appendix of samples and a bibliography are included. The author teaches courses on the subject.” (Syndetics summary)

Family histories in the NZ Collection
To get some ideas on how to present your research, look at some of the many published family histories in our NZ Collection and , like these:

As Family History month continues so does the list of genealogy resources available at Wellington City Libraries. For this post we feature a handy hint from our Local History Specialist, Gábor, that you can use when using the historic ‘Birth, Death and Marriage’ database in order to get a specific date for the event you are searching for. Also some help in finding passenger lists for ships that came to New Zealand, World War 1 service records and the type of information you can find searching through the NZ Gazette. You can find a display of these genealogical resources from this series of blogs on the second floor of Wellington Central Library.

PASSENGER LISTS
When did your ancestors arrive in New Zealand? How did they get here? Where did they come from? Passenger lists can help you answer all these questions.
If you already know the name of the ship, or which port they might have arrived at in NZ, or roughly when, you can find many passenger lists on:

Denise and Peter’s
Over 1000 passenger lists, which can be searched by the name of the ship or port of arrival.

New Zealand Bound
Passenger lists arranged by port of arrival. Excellent tips on calculating year of arrival and other details, and many links to other sites containing passenger lists and all sorts of information related to shipping.

If you’re starting from scratch, without any immigration details, you can search by your ancestor’s name to find a passenger list on:Family Search – Archives NZ Passenger Lists, 1839-1973
Search by the name of your ancestor, or browse the collection by port of arrival, year and ship. There are good tips for searching the lists.

Papers Past
Ships’ arrivals were usually reported in the newspapers, sometimes with a list of the passengers and often with interesting details about the sailing.

WORLD WAR 1 RECORDS ON ARCHWAY
If you had a relative serving in WW1 their military record will give a thorough description their military service – from when they enlisted, through wartime and beyond. Besides valuable information like birthdate and place, and next of kin, you can find out all sorts of interesting details about them, like the colour of their eyes and condition of their teeth!
Personnel files of WW1 servicemen are held at Archives NZ. The files are made up of numerous documents (attestation papers, medical history, casualty forms etc) that have been compiled into one file for each soldier. The files have been digitised and can be searched by name on ARCHWAY

PAPERS PAST
For adding depth and fascinating detail to your family history research, you can’t go past Papers Past.
This website of digitised newspapers from the National Library’s collection of NZ (including Maori) and Pacific newspapers is continuously being extended – both date ranges and titles. You can search for specific people, places, events etc, or browse through papers – what you find will provide insights into the social, economic and political times in which your ancestors lived.
The new version of the website was launched recently and has more than just newspapers. It is divided into 4 sections – Newspapers, Magazines and Journals, Letters and Diaries, and Parliamentary Papers. Searching is easier, with “a cleaner, more modern interface…and search tools have been improved, making it easier to search groups of papers, pick date ranges, and scan results”.

BIRTH, DEATH and MARRIAGE: Obtaining specific dates

After a change in legislation in the mid-2000’s, tighter restrictions on accessing birth, death and marriage (BDM) data were introduced which saw the end of the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) providing annual datasets. These had been published on microfiche up to 1990 (which the central library continues to hold) and as computer files from 1991 onwards. However this change also saw the DIA make “historic” BDM data available and searchable online providing the following conditions are met:

1. The birth occurred more than 100 years ago
2. The marriage occurred more than 80 years ago
3. The death occurred more than 50 years ago OR the deceased was (or would have been had they still been alive today) at least 80 years of age. For example, the registration of someone who passed away in 1995 aged 60 can now be searched for as they would have been over 80 today.

Searches on the BDM website normally produces a year and a reference number of an event which can be used to obtain a full print-out or certificate. However by manipulating the search parameters, you can force the database to produce the actual date (day, month and year) that the event took place. Start by running a search that produces a BDM result of the name of someone you are interested in. Then gradually start to narrow the time-frame being searched for in the “Search from date” and the “Search to date” options. Start by narrowing the year; if the name suddenly disappears you will know the event is outside of the date parameters you have set. When a year is isolated, start to narrow the range of months being searched, again making sure the name you seek continues to result from a search, then do the same for the day within the month. When the “search from” and “search to” dates are exactly the same and the name you are looking for still results when a search is run, you know that you have isolated the exact date of the birth, death or marriage. Try it at BDM – Historical Records online

The NZ GAZETTE

The New Zealand Gazette is a weekly publication of government proclamations and is a massive source of genealogical information. Published since the earliest days of the colony, the gazette holds information about land transfers, bankruptcy notices & business liquidations, military call-up lists, local council information and a huge wealth of other information. One of the most useful areas of the gazette for the family historian are the lists of names (and often addresses) of individuals applying for formal registration within certain occupations. Occupations which required registration include doctors, nurses, teachers, electricians, boilermakers, engine drivers, architects and any number of other roles including positions such as Justices of Peace. One of the issues with the NZ Gazette was that until recently it was very difficult to find any information about an individual without knowing the date a gazette “notice” was published. Today we have access to a searchable database containing all copies of the NZ Gazette from 1841 through to 2014. As the database is a commercial product, it is not available online but rather must be used on a computer set aside for family history purposes at the Central Library. Ask at the reference desk on the 2nd floor for details.

It’s week two of Family History month so time to introduce a few more resources that the researcher may be able to use to discover useful information to find another piece of the family history jigsaw puzzle. This post features ‘Zinio Online Magazines’ to access Family History magazines, information on searching “Iwi Histories and Māori Births and Deaths database, and three other useful information sources, the city archives, the Cyclopaedia of New Zealand and Stone’s directories. There is also a Wellington based genealogy events. You can find a display of these genealogical resources on the second floor of Wellington Central Library.

Zinio Online Magazines
With Zinio you can access family history magazines online including ‘Who do you think you are?’ and ‘Inside History’.

Zinio is easy to use – you can view magazines via streaming on desktop/laptops or download them to tablets or smartphones for offline reading using the free Zinio for Libraries app. Added features in both versions allow magazine content to be printed, shared or emailed – and you can easily bookmark a magazine to save where you’re up to. Link here to the full set of titles available.

To use the Wellington City Libraries’ Zinio collection link here to create a new account. Have your library card number ready

Iwi Histories
Apart from key “tribal” histories – many of which were published from early last century, there are many books in our collection which will assist you in understanding the background to (your) iwi and hapū. Here is a link to the whakapapa page from the Māori Resources section on the library website.

Māori Births, Deaths & Marriages
Available at the 2nd floor information desk at Wellington Central Library
The information in this database is gathered from the same source as the microfiche, and the historical online records i.e. the official records held by New Zealand Dept of Internal Affairs.
However, additional material lies behind the record for each name, allowing you to search extra fields and retrieve much more detail than the microfiches or the historical online record allow:
Keep your search(es) as simple as possible, to avoid “knocking out” entries which may be beneficial to your end result.

The City Archives
Did your ancestors live in Wellington? The Wellington City Archive is a huge repository for Council records going back to the early 1860s which can reveal fascinating information about earlier residents. Anyone who has owned a property or run a business within the city is likely to have had some sort of relationship with the City Council and much of that information is kept in perpetuity. Records include house plans, street histories, rating information (who owned a property and what it was worth), cemetery and cremation information, complaints to the council on all manner of subjects, staff records and dozens of other sources information contained within eight linear kilometres of shelving. You can access a basic file index on-line but staff archivists are happy to help you navigate your way through to potential sources of genealogical information. Just to note that archives staff require at least a day’s notice to get requested material ready for you to research in their reading room in Barker Street, so make sure you contact them before visiting. Contact & location details and a link to their index database can be found here.

The Cyclopaedia of New Zealand
120 years ago, a Wellington-based publishing company was established to produce one of the first “vanity” publications to be printed in New Zealand. Issued in six volumes (broken down into provinces) over ten years, the Cyclopaedia offers an extraordinary insight into colonial New Zealand at the turn of the 20th Century. The first, largest and most detailed volume was dedicated to Wellington and was released in 1897. It’s 1300+ pages contains a wealth of information about a huge number of different areas such as schools and school teachers, hotels and pubs, central and local body politicians, businesses and their owners, tradesmen, sports clubs, boarding houses and restaurants. As people often paid a fee to be included (and also provided the material), personal biographies are invariably flattering but this doesn’t greatly detract from it being a wonderful source of genealogical information. The publishers also made use of what was then highly advanced printing technology to reproduce half-tone photographs on semi-gloss paper. The result is that the Cyclopaedia contains the only known photographs of many early pioneers. As original copies of the Cyclopaedia of New Zealand are now rare and fragile, Wellington City Libraries worked with the New Zealand Electronic Text Centre to assist them to digitise a complete set of the volumes. These can be searched or browsed here.

Stones Directories
Before there were phonebooks there were directories. These publications are now usual for finding people, where they lived and what occupations they held.
From the early 1870’s to the mid 1950’s saw three major publishers of directories including Wises’ and Stones’ directories which we have in various forms at the Central Library An entry would usually consist of the name, occupation and residence of the house owner. 1869 saw the first householder lists for all provincial centres and included many of the smaller towns. The main sections of the business and residential directories were obtained by canvassing house to house. The head of the household was listed, as well as any male lodgers. Woman were included only if they owned property in their own name.

Recommended event coming up next week

Publishing your family stories
Weds 17th August 5:30pm
Connolly Hall – Guildford Terrace, Thorndon.
Suzanne Sutton: Getting all your family stories written down and out there to be enjoyed now and in the future.
Hosted by Hutt Branch of the NZ Society of Genealogists

To acknowledge the village and the people of Parihaka, and to mourn the anniversary of the events which occurred there on November 5 1881, we have compiled a booklist of excellent Parihaka resources, including fiction, non-fiction and children’s books:

The Parihaka woman / Witi Ihimaera.
“There has never been a New Zealand novel quite like The Parihaka Woman. Richly imaginative and original, weaving together fact and fiction, it sets the remarkable story of Erenora against the historical background of the turbulent and compelling events that occurred in Parihaka during the 1870s and 1880s. Parihaka is the place Erenora calls home, a peaceful Taranaki settlement overcome by war and land confiscation. As her world is threatened, Erenora must find within herself the strength, courage and ingenuity to protect those whom she loves. And, like a Shakespearean heroine, she must change herself before she can take up her greatest challenge and save her exiled husband, Horitana. Surprising, inventive and deeply moving, The Parihaka Woman confirms Witi Ihimaera as one of New Zealand’s finest and most memorable storytellers.” (Syndetics summary)

Ghosts of Parihaka / David Hair.
“It hasn’t been an easy time for Matiu Douglas, magical adept. One of his friends is now a ghost, his enemies have stolen the Treaty of Waitangi, he can’t date the girl he really likes and he keeps getting unwanted marriage proposals from a dangerous, centuries-old tohunga’s daughter. But when his best friend, Riki, is snatched into the ghost-world of Aotearoa during a school trip, Mat has to put all his other worries aside and act fast. For Riki vanished at Parihaka, scene of one of the darkest acts from New Zealand’s colonial past, and in Aotearoa such places are deadly dangerous” (Syndetics summary)

Ask that mountain : the story of Parihaka / Dick Scott.
“Parihaka has become a byword for Maori refusal to yield land, culture and dignity to New Zealand’s colonial government. Well after the end of the New Zealand Wars, the people of this small settlement at the foot of Mt Taranaki held out against the encroachments of Pakeha settlers in a struggle that swapped the weapons of war for the weapons of peace.Taking as their symbol the white feather, the chiefs Te Whiti and Tohu led Parihaka in one of the world’s first-recorded campaigns of passive resistance. Maori ploughmen wrote its message across the settlers’ pastures, and Maori fencers underlined the point by throwing barriers across the queen’s highways. Withstanding repeated military action, the spirit of resistance born at Parihaka kept alive the flame of that supposedly ‘dying race’, the Maori.Ask That Mountain draws on official papers, settler manuscripts and oral history to give the first complete account of what took place at Parihaka. Now in its ninth edition, this seminal work was in 1995 named by the Sunday Star-Times as one of the ten most important books published in New Zealand.” (Syndetics summary)

The Parihaka album : lest we forget / Rachel Buchanan.
“A photo album doesn’t tell the whole story of a family and this book doesn’t tell the whole story of Parihaka. Rather, it is a collection of snapshots, a patchwork quilt, a scrapbook, a mongrel record my own efforts to understand one of the most important and disturbing events in New Zealand history – the 1881 invasion of Parihaka – and its powerful, complicated legacy. Rachel Buchanan The Parihaka Album: Lest We Forget blends the personal and the historical. It tracks the author Rachel Buchanan’s discovery of her family’s links with Parihaka and her Maori and Pakeha ancestor’s roles in the early days of the city that is now Wellington.” (Syndetics summary)

Remember that November / written by Jennifer Beck ; illustrated by Lindy Fisher.
“It’s almost Guy Fawkes Night, and at the school speech competition Andy talks about Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot. The children cheer excitedly, thinking Andy will win the contest. But then, Aroha gets up, wearing a white feather in her hair, and tells the story of another fifth of November u the invasion of Parihaka in 1881.” (Syndetics summary)

Christchurch musician Ariana Tikao has recently moved to Wellington and is the new Research Librarian, Māori in the Alexander Turnbull Library (Arrangement & Description team). She has just released a new album, From Dust to Light, and celebrated with a pre-release gig at Te Papa recently. We asked her some questions about her whakapapa, her music and her new album.

We hear you’ve recently moved up from Christchurch. What brought you up here and how has the shift been for you?The job really brought me here, but I have to say, that the earthquakes did have a part to play in creating the idea for a change. I do miss family and Christchurch, but it has been a great move for my career. Working at the Turnbull is a bit of a dream job. Also a new music scene and access to new musicians to collaborate with is really positive.

Have you noticed any differences in the music scene between here and Christchurch?Um, there are not many venues left in Christchurch now. I haven’t really had time to delve into the music scene here yet in a big way, but I really enjoyed working with Lee Prebble at the Surgery, and I am loving working with Ben Lemi Wood who I collaborated with on the album, and also the other musicians who played on the album: Al Fraser, Brooke Singer and Charley Davenport. I think just being in the North Island now is going to open up new opportunities for me in terms of festivals to play at etc.

In what ways have you drawn on your Māori lineage for inspiration for your music?It is quite a major theme really. It is my main inspiration. I love singing in Te Reo Māori, it has a real wairua of its own, and I find it very emotional. Many of the stories from my whānau or iwi come through as stories or themes in my music.

What’s your musical background? You play taonga puoro; how did you get into that? What other instruments do you play?I don’t have a background in western music theory, but lately I have been playing taonga puoro, which I have had an interest in for a long time now. Brian Flintoff makes most of my instruments. They are each a taonga as individuals and you need to get to know them all individually as no two instruments are the same. I also play the Appallachian dulcimer which I really love for its delicate sound, and it is pretty easy to play. Mine was made by Ian Davie of Singing Wood.

Is there a story behind your new album; does it have a theme?Yes. The title was inspired by a picture of Christchurch from the February 2011 earthquake, where dust rose above the city from the fallen buildings. It is a very powerful image. When I was still living in Christchurch last year, it felt very dark and bleak in the middle of winter and I wrote the song ‘Let there be light’ as a song of hope and encouraging us to move beyond the despair. That became the overall theme of the album ‘From Dust to Light’ but also the subtheme of reviving old knowledge and breathing life into it and bringing it into the present.

Tell us about your job at the Alexander Turnbull Library? What are your favourite parts of your job?I work in the Arrangement and Description team which is largely a ‘backroom’ kind of activity describing what is in the unpublished collections. We receive collections from donations or purchase and usually need to re-house them into acid-free folders etc and make new records and descriptions for them. I specialise in Māori collections, and really love it. I am working on a new collection of James Cowan papers at present. He was a writer in the first half of the 20th century, and did a lot of writing about Māori culture and NZ history. He even interviewed my Great-Grandfather Teone Taare Tikao. There is a waiata on my new album inspired by a story that our Poua gave to Cowan.

Do you have any up-coming Wellington gigs we can get along to? Where can we find out more?I will be performing again in Wellington in February (or possibly before then). Eva Street Studio, 2 Eva Street, Wellington on Saturday February 16 2013. People can keep an eye on my website for details. www.arianatikao.com

While Ariana’s From Dust to Light hasn’t hit the library shelves yet, we do have a previous album, Tuia, for you to enjoy. You can reserve it here!

We also have the book Tikao Talks, which contains stories from Ariana’s great-grandfather, Teone Taare Tikao. Ariana says the stories are a great source of inspiration for her, and that some of the waiata on her Tuia album are directly inspired by the book.

Another book which has inspired waiata for Ariana is Māori folk-tales of the Port Hills, Canterbury, New Zealand by James Cowan. A story and some lyrics in the book inspired her song Titi Whakatai Arorua, which features on her new album From Dust to Light. Ariana says she loves “bringing old korero to light so they can help form our identity now, and into the future.”

Update:

Unfortunately Rachel’s lunchtime performance today at the Museum of Wellington City and Sea has had to be cancelled. We hope Rachel will be able to reschedule at a later date and will keep you posted as and when we hear more.

New Zealand singer and songwriter Rachel Dawick is back in Wellington on the second stage of her ‘Follow My Tears’ tour, and will give a free performance celebrating the lives of women in 1800s New Zealand this Friday at the Museum of Wellington City and Sea.

Rachel visited Wellington City Libraries back in May and gave us two beautiful performances, capturing women’s stories with “a slice of folk, a dash of blues and a bit of country with a twist”. This time Rachel is collecting stories of women’s lives from 1893 to WWII as she cycles(!) through New Zealand and raises funds for Christchurch Women’s Refuge along the way.

Come to the Museum of Wellington City and Sea, 12.30pm Friday 11 November, to hear Rachel and maybe bring along a story or two of your own. Entry is free.

We have a great list of new books in our History Recent Picks this month. Enjoy!

Tracing your rural ancestors : a guide for family historians / Jonathan Brown.
“Many family historians will come across direct links to ancestors who lived and worked in the countryside as farmers, labourers, landowners, village tradesmen and professionals – for most of us have rural ancestors. Yet despite the burgeoning interest in genealogy, these people have rarely been written about with the family historian in mind. No previous book has provided a guide to the documents and records, from medieval times to the twentieth century, that researchers can use to find out about their rural ancestors and the world in which they lived. That is why this accessible and informative introduction by rural historian Jonathan Brown is so important.”(Global Books In Print)

Karori and its people / edited by Judith Burch & Jan Heynes.
“This book traces Karori’s transition from its beginnings as a rural outpost in the 1840s, through to the thriving community it is today – one of New Zealand’s largest and most significant suburbs. Chapters cover: Landscape and natural environment – Access – Settlement, growth and population – The town centre — heart of the suburb – Residential – Governance – Education – Business – Religion – Heritage in the cemetery – Military – Sport and recreation – Health and sanitation – Community and social services – Karori people. KARORI AND ITS PEOPLE covers all these topics and more, with the common thread the people who have made the suburb their home.” (Global Books In Print)

The Lisbon route : entry and escape in Nazi Europe / Ronald Weber.
“The Lisbon Route tells of the extraordinary World War II transformation of Portugal’s tranquil port city into the great escape hatch of Nazi Europe. Royalty, celebrities, diplomats, fleeing troops, and ordinary citizens desperately slogged their way across France and Spain to reach the neutral nation. As well as offering freedom from war, Lisbon provided spies, smugglers, relief workers, military figures, and adventurers with an avenue into the conflict and its opportunities. Yet an ever-present shadow behind the gaiety was the fragile nature of Portuguese neutrality.” (Syndetics summary)

Gallipoli : the final battles and evacuation of Anzac / David W. Cameron.
“This book is the first book since Charles Bean’s Official history to provide a detailed narrative of the bloody and tragic battle for Hill 60, along with the other engagements that went on until the very last days at Anzac – viewed from both sides of the trenches. It also examines in detail the planning and execution of the evacuation of the troops from Anzac – the most successful part of the whole Gallipoli fiasco. David Cameron’s detailed research and use of firsthand accounts including letters, diaries, and interviews, enables him to convey the confusion of battle while also telling a good story with a powerful emotional impact”–Back cover.

For 60 days Rachel will be touring New Zealand performing and collecting stories of New Zealand women in the 1800s on her journey.

“Researching into the songs written in the 1800s in NZ revealed a large gap in terms of those by women. It was a musical history dominated by men and therefore providing only half a story. If there weren’t the songs then the next best thing would be to discover the stories and write the songs myself.”
Rachel Dawick.

Want to have a listen before the event? Check out Rachel’s previous albums in our catalogue.